Centennial Blue Jays

Greetings, Blue Jay families!

We hope everyone had a fantastic Winter Break and are coming back all refreshed and ready to learn!

This month's character trait is EMPATHY. Please see below for ideas of how to help your students show their empathy. Students who are caught demonstrating empathy can earn Blue Jay Bucks that they can use at the Student Store.

Healthy Moves: We're excited to have the grant-funded Healthy Moves program come to our school this month! Healthy Moves is a 30-minute activity program that is done before school Monday-Thursday. Starting at 8, trainers will start working with up to 60 students who have already eaten breakfast, and students will be dismissed for class at 8:25. Physical activities include a warm-up, cardiovascular activities, games, and a cool down/yoga stretch. Activities are adapted to be appropriate for each grade.

This program is designed to stimulate physical activity for K-5 kids and has the added benefit of preparing them to be able to focus better in the classroom. The program is voluntary, and students who choose not to participate will line up with Mr Mac in the hallway.

This is the first time we've been able to offer this opportunity, and we appreciate your patience as we work out any potential issues.

Let's have a great January, everyone!

Don Hakala, Principal

Jan. 1–3: No School - Winter Break

Jan. 6: No School - Staff Collaboration Day

Jan. 7: Students return

Jan. 7: PTO Meeting, 6 p.m.

Jan. 10: Flock Friday

Jan. 13: One Book One School books distributed

Jan. 13: Healthy Moves program starts at 8 a.m.

Jan. 15: 1B1S reading begins

Jan. 17: Flock Friday

Jan. 20: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan. 24: Early Release/Flock Friday (12:30)

Jan. 26: PTO Family Swim Day

Jan. 30: 1B1S Family Party, 6 p.m.

Jan. 31: No School - Teacher Prep Day

On Monday, Jan. 20 there is no school in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.

• All are invited to join in the 27th Annual MLK March to Springfield High, starting at 1:00 at the Springfield Justice Center.
• Student reception begins at 1:30 in the Springfield High cafeteria.
• Program and awards run from 2 to 3:30.

Students may be working on projects for submission to the annual contest during school this month. All submissions will be on display during the reception. It's always a powerful and impactful event for families to join in on! You can find more information here.

During January Centennial is continuing to focus on the expectation of following directions. A special Blue Jay Buck is being used to acknowledge students following directions throughout their day: in class, in the hallways, on the playground, and in the cafeteria. Each classroom is setting a goal for how many special Blue Jay Bucks they need to accumulate to earn a special classroom celebration. Students can also use their Blue Jay Bucks to enter their name into prize drawings. The main idea is to recognize students as they make great choices at Centennial!

Empathy is making an effort to understand how someone else is feeling, even when you aren't in the same situation. The expression "walking in their shoes" means that you try to see things from the other person's point of view, and imagine how you would feel in those circumstances. Empathy is an important social skill for all of us. You can help us by modeling empathy at home and talking about it with your student(s)!

Back for the second fabulous year in a row, our amazing PTO has purchased a copy of the book for each family and each staff member! Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe is a lovely book about a dog named Fenway and his beloved "short human" Hattie, written from Hattie's perspective. For one glorious month, the entire school will be ON THE SAME PAGE!

With this program, we aim to build a Community of Readers at our school. Everyone – students, parents, teachers, even administrative staff – will all be following along together!

Check student backpacks next week for their copy of Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe. Along with the book, you will receive a reading schedule so that you can keep up at home. Generally, you will be asked to read about 15 minutes each night.

Ideally, the whole family will be able to read together. Reading aloud at home is valuable because it better prepares your child to be an effective reader, and it is also a fun, worthwhile family activity.

Reading starts next Wednesday, January 15th. Our One Book, One School program will celebrated with a family night on Thursday, January 30 at 6:00.

Our kinders and first-graders will be learning how to ride a bike this month during PE class, Jan. 7 - Han. 24, courtesy of the district's Safe Routes to School program! Reminders for families:

• Please be sure student wear tennis shoes every day.
• Avoid long dresses/skirts that can get caught in the wheel.
• Hairstyles must be able to accommodate wearing a helmet. Please practice with helmets if at all possible.

If you'd like to volunteer to help, please sign up here. You must be registered as a volunteer with the district. Check with Deb to make sure that you are. If not, you can register online here.

We are excited for our Annual Family Swim Day!

Join us at Splash! to enjoy an afternoon of swimming with your Centennial family and friends.

• Admission is FREE for Centennial students and their families.
• Please be sure to arrive by 12:45 to take advantage of free admission.
• Everyone is welcome to stay for the public swim from 1-5 pm at no cost!

That's up to 5 HOURS OF FREE SWIMMING! Plus, you get to do it all with your Blue Jay friends!

Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is in full swing at Centennial! Participating students in grades 3-5 have been hard at work, reading, studying, and working with their teammates to prepare for the OBOB trivia battles coming up starting Monday, February 3, 2025! For the month of February, Centennial’s 13 OBOB teams will have their chance to challenge various teams in the battle of book knowledge! Battles will be held in the library during school hours, moderated by Miss Hodgin. If parents or guardians are interested in volunteering their time to help during a battle, or have any questions about coaching their child’s team, please reach out to Miss Hodgin, madison.hodgin@springfield.k12.or.us! If you want to learn more about OBOB or how to support your student, you can find lots of resources, including a coaches guide, at www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org.

Congratulations to December's Super Students, who were all acknowledged for their GRATITUDE, among other awesome traits: Jazlynn, Alayna, Reese, Jace, Charlotte B, Wyatt G, Zoie, Lennix, Sonny, Sari, Raelynn N-W, Torie, Elijah M, Eisley, Dahlia, Nora, Lachlan, Daishon, Ryan, Whitney, Blayze, Roxy, Aidden, Ember, Ella, River, Astonus, Jasper, AJ, Emmett, and AnaSofia! Keep up the great work!

We're excited that the very cool Girls on the Run program is coming back to Centennial! The program will start up in March for girls in grades 3–5. Girls will meet on the track for practice 2 days a week after school, building toward a 5k at the end of the season. It's a great way for girls to make friends, learn about being part of a team, and of course, get lots of healthy exercise. We are working to ensure the program is open to any girl, regardless of ability to pay. You can read more about the program here. Stay tuned for more info about signing up!

Willamalane: It's registration time for 5th grade girls basketball after school. Scholarships are available, even FULL scholarships upon request.

Centennial has an outstanding PTO! We really appreciate all they do to support our staff and students at CES! We would love to have you participate with this group. Meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Child care is always available, and they offer a light meal. You can visit their website at www.cespto.org.

How to support our school:

• You can always get blue bags from the school office. This is an easy way to support the PTO through donations of bottles and cans. Just bring the bag to the Springfield Bottle Drop Redemption Center, scan the PTO bar code, and toss your bag.
• Watch for upcoming fundraisers, and in the meantime, volunteer!

Email: deb.jolda@springfield.k12.or.us
Website: centennial.springfield.k12.or.us
Location: 1315 Aspen Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541-744-6383
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentennialBlueJays

We are always happy to help or answer any questions you might have!